抄録
There are very few studies on growth and development in young children in South Korea, and there are almost none that have comparatively investigated physique and motor abilities between Japan and South Korea. In the present study, we compare the physical characteristics of preschool children in Japan and South Korea, and investigate the differences in physique and motor ability between the two countries. The subjects were 107 children (50 boys and 57 girls) in the final year of one kindergarten in Aichi Prefecture, Japan and 143 children (94 boys and 49 girls) in the final year of one kindergarten in a suburb of Seoul, Korea. Measurements of physique were height, weight, and BMI, and measurements of physical strength were standing long jump, hanging from a horizontal bar, and one-leg standing. Regression polynomials were made for weight against height in the children of both countries, and regression evaluation charts based on standard body weight were constructed by determining the valid order for the polynomial. Body fatness was judged with a 5-level evaluation standard. Height and weight data from both countries were applied to the regression evaluation chart and the frequency distribution of body fatness in Japan and South Korea was derived. An x2 test was then performed for the distribution in the two countries and body fatness was compared. The t-test was used to compare motor ability in the two countries. As a result, a first order regression evaluation chart for body weight against height was constructed for both boys and girls in Japan and for boys in Korea, and a second order chart was constructed for Korean girls. x2 tests were performed for frequency distribution charts for each level of body fatness when the respective regression evaluation charts for Japanese boys and girls were applied to Korean boys and girls, and a significant difference was seen (P<0.05). It was found that both boys and girls in South Korea have fatter body types than children in Japan. Motor ability in the two countries was compared using the t-test, and significant differences were seen in all three items (P<0.05), with Japanese children showing better performance than Korean children. Since it has been pointed out that there are increasing rates of metabolic syndrome and obesity and a trend for decreasing physical strength in preschool children even in Japan, there may be serious problems in the environment of preschool children in South Korea.
